Tuesday 1st February 2022, Colombo: Astra was launched in Sri Lanka, back in 1965 providing great taste and the nutrition to help kids ‘Grow Healthy & Happy’. Astra is currently owned by Upfield which is the largest plant-based food organization in the world with their presence across 95 countries. As an organization which operates with the purpose of making Sri Lankan families, healthy and happy with great tasting plant-based products which are good for us and good for the planet, Upfield always tries to ensure that they come with solutions which address consumer needs and their tension points.
The current Astra portfolio includes Astra Fat Spread, Astra Mayonnaise and Astra Cooking Pack. With the increasing focus on kids’ growth and immunity, Astra has now introduced its newest addition ‘Astra Acti√’ fat spread to the market, which is fortified with vitamin A, D, B6, B9 and B12 to support the normal function of the immune system and omega 3 & 6 naturally sourced from sunflower and canola oils to support the growth and development of kids.
As a plant-based product, Astra Acti√ is free from bad trans fats and doesn’t have any inherent cholesterol. At the same time, it also does not contain artificial colours or artificial flavours. Astra Acti√ is also a soft fat spread. So as soon as you take it out of the refrigerator, it can be applied right away. This makes it an ideal fit into today’s busy lifestyles helping moms better manage busy mornings and sending children off to school.
Cementing its credentials as the preferred choice for children in Sri Lanka, the launch of Astra Acti√ was held by Upfield Sri Lanka, on 1st February, amidst a timely panel discussion that comprised of an eminent panel including Dr. R.M. Surantha Perera – Consultant Pediatrician and Neonatologist, Ministry of Health of Sri Lanka, Ms. Nilesha Dahanayake – Registered Nutritionist, Nutritionist at Dietplan LK, Former Nutritionist for the National Football Team, Ms. Nadini Premadasa – Musician, Performer and Mother and Ms. Shehani Liyanage – Global Marketing Manager, BlueBand for AMEA (Asia Middle East Africa) & ANZ region at Upfield Lanka Limited.
This panel discussion provided professional opinions and insights on the right micronutrients including Vitamins A, D, B6, B9 and B12 that are important to support the normal function of immunity. The panel also discussed the type of food such as vegetables, fruits, green leaves which can carry these nutrients as well as how difficult it can be to feed these foods to our little picky eaters. Another key point of discussion was on kids’ growth and development. Parents expectations on growth expands beyond physical growth into mental and cognitive growth as well. And it is important to have the right nutrition to facilitate that. Omega 3 and 6 essential fatty acids play an important role in this overgrowth of kids. However, these fatty acids cannot be made inside our bodies hence has to be taken in with the diet. Omega 3 can be found in food such as fish oil while omega 6 is abundant in sunflower, canola linseed and similar plant-based seeds and oils. However, giving the right quantities of these food on daily basis can be challenging specially with kids’ food preference. That’s why Astra Acti√ is going to be the best friend of our parents going forward as it is packed with those essential fats and micronutrition in the form of a tasty fat spread that is easy to be given to our picky eaters.
The session also offered insights on debunking myths around fats and margarine. There were some shocking data and insights that revealed around consumer perceptions based on research conducted by Prosoft research agency. 95% of Sri Lankans believe that fats are overall bad, and it makes you fat, which is a completely wrong perception. As per WHO classification, 30% of daily energy must come in the form of fats. All that is important is to eat everything in moderation be it fats or any other food type. But as a key macronutrient, if you remove fats totally from your diet that can have bad repercussions such as lack of vitamin absorption and increase in bad cholesterol formation in body.
Another wrong myth amongst 33% of consumers is that butter is better than margarine. This is the other way around. Margarine is better than butter and this is due to a few key reasons:
- Trans fats are a type of bad fat. They can increase bad cholesterol levels in your body. WHO recommends consuming food with less than 1% trans fats levels per serving. But if you look at butter, trans fats are formed in the guts of the cows itself. So, there is up to 3% of trans fats in butter. But plant-based oils don’t have any trans fats and at the same time margarine is made with very high-quality technologies like full hydrogenation or interestification for over 3 decades now and these methods prevent any possibility of formation of trans fats. So, margarine don’t have any trans fats making it the better alternative to butter.
- Cholesterol is another area with a lot of myths around. Plants don’t have cholesterol and same goes for plant-based oils. So, margarine made with plant-based oils inherently don’t have any cholesterol. But dairy butter is made with cows’ milk which does have dietary cholesterol. So next time when someone tells you “Don’t eat margarine they have cholesterol” you should share this knowledge with them.
- Saturated and unsaturated fats can sound a bit confusing. But this is an important area of information for anyone to know. Saturated fats are the type of fats which we may find mostly on our diet coming from things like vegetable oils and coconuts etc. Saturated oils aren’t bad, but they need to be limited in your diet because too much saturated fats can go into your body and be converted to bad cholesterol. If you take butter and a fat spread like Astra Acti√ or even Flora which is made predominantly with sunflower and canola oils they have 60% less saturated fats than butter. Now unsaturated fats are the best type of fats for your body. Unsaturated fatty acids like Omegas 3 and 6 are essential for your body and must be taken in from the diet as it cannot be formed inside the body. Omegas 3 and 6 are essential for kids for growth and development and for adults they can also help to maintain the body cholesterol levels, helping with your heart health. And if you look at butter, they have no unsaturated fats. But Astra Acti√ or even Flora has high levels of unsaturated fats and are packed with Omega 3 and 6 making them the ultimate better choice vs butter.
So next time you hear some grapevine myth share this information with them as well to make the right food choices
With generations of mothers’ trust and love for over 56 years, Astra is also known for its iconic flavour and that great taste is still maintained for their newest addition Astra Acti√ as well. In a time where consumers are constantly worrying about source of the products they buy, it is also noteworthy to share that Upfield products are made with the finest ingredients and made to global and local standards. Their products are manufactured locally as per the SLSI standard guideline under both HACCP and GMP certified facility. They also use new cutting-edge technology like interestification and full hydrogenation to ensure that no trans fats are formed in the process of making their products
Astra is a part of the global brand BlueBand which is present across 35 countries including but not limited to Pakistan, Netherlands, Kenya, Malaysia, and Indonesia. And it comes to our households with the same global quality standards through the same processing techniques to provide our families the essential fats and vitamins they need in their regular diet.